Cleaning device for utilizing volatile liquids.



F. D. FARNAM.

CLEANING DEVICE FOR UTILIZING VOLATILE LIQUIDS. APPLICATION FILED NOV- I5. I9I2.

Patented May 4, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

IIIHIIIIII F. D. FARNAM. CLEANING DEVICE FOR UTILIZING VOLATILE LIQUIDS. APPLICATION FILED NOV. i5. I912.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

II'II I IIIIII I II IIIIIII III III i215: I I E; 4 I Wm IIII I Patented May 4, 1915.

highly inflammable liquid, sometimes. used or coupling 3, the outer end of which maybe Sometimes in Washing silk gasolene or: a. brush, 5,.which conveniently is; pr vid d or, fatal accident. sage in its bottom, through which the.

9.5 and whereby a limited and restricted vola a. passage opening upwardly therethrough the cleaning fluid for the purpose intended. a passage l5 opening through the. head 6,-

a use be discontinuedfurther delivery of the casing 7, is elevated sufliciently. above the purpose described adapted. for lmmediate The construction illustrated in Fig. 4, is

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FBANK D. FABNAM, OF CHICAGQILLLNOIS.

CLEANING DEVIQE FOB UTILIZING VOLATILE LIQUIDS, 137 959 Specification of Letters Patent. Patgnted, May 4;, 1915 Application meamvemuer 15, 1,912. 8erlal1Io.781,591.

To all whom itmay concern: In thev drawi Ei re 1 is a g Be it known that I, FRANK D. FARNaM, a vertical section ii f a de i ce embod yfnsg n citizen of the United States, and a resident invention. Fi '2 i geqtiqn th f on of Edison Park, Chicago, in the county of hue of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is' an, enlarged 5 Cook and State of Ilhnois, have invented sectional detail of; the valve. Eig. 4 is a.

certain new i and useful Improvements 1n view similar to Fig. 1, but illustrating a Cleaning Devices for Utilizing Volatile container. havinga $1ightlydifierent shape Liquids; and I do hereby declare that the for convenience in handling. Fig. 5is a secfollowing is a full, clear, and exact description similar to Fig. 1,. and illustrating a 10 tion of the. same,-reference being had to the somewhat differentvalve construction: Fig.

accompanying drawings, and to, the nu- 6 Is an enlarged, fragmentary d t il. d merals of reference marked thereon, whjgh' section of theconstructlon illustrated in Fig. form a part of this specification. 5.. Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the same. Considerable danger and frequent loss of Fig. 8 is an enlarged, top, plan view of the 16 life or serious injury, is occasioned through spider for centralizin th valverod, the use of volatile liquids such as gasolene, As.- shown in the drawings: A container benzene, naphtha, ether, and other similar comprising a tube 1, havinga cap 2, fitted liquids. used in cleaning. These accidents thereto, and, if preferred, threaded thereon usually occur from the use of a volatile and to permit filling, is threaded into a fitting from. open. dishes, the vapors from which of larger diameter and is internally threaded soon saturate the atmosphere to an extent to receive therein the suitably threaded back that a spark produced from any cause, is. or end 4, of a cleaning or. rubbing element of sutficient to cause an exp'los1on and fire. any d6SCI'1ptlQn,b}1-t.a.s shown consisting of hth th bbing f the, silk may prowith relatively stifl bristles, which converge duce a suflicient electrical spark to ignite the. toward the. center. Sec ,ed at the inner. end exceedingly inflammable gases surroundingofthe tube on its closed head 6, is a valve the same with the result of a very serious casing 7, hav ng an inwardly opgnjng The object of this invention is. to afford a lane or other volatile liquid may flow t eredevice. whereby the cleaning liquid is at all into, and containing a ball closure 8.

tnnesinclosed, and free volatilization there- Threaded into said valve cas ng a comof to the atmosphere is entirely prevented, plementally shaped head 0 seat 9, having tilizat on occasioned by the warmth of the communicating with a bent tube 10, hand of. the user, or by any other su table Whlch extends upwardlyin said tube to near means is suflicient to discharge to, the surthe upper end thereof and thence downface to, becleaned, the requisite amount of wardly with the end thereof extending into It is an object of the invention to afi'ord a and the brush ba as shown,- in Fig. 1. construction whereby the flow of the clean- Said pipe, of course, is soldered or otherwise ing fluid is. occasioned by the heat of the connected in the head.6,.of.th e tube to afl'ord hand of the user, and wherebyshouldthe a t ght joint, and the bottom of the valve volatile. fluid immediately ceases, head 6, .to. permit the volatile liquidto flow 10o It is also an. object of the-invention to therebeneath and upwardly therethrough afl'ord an exceedingly simple, durable, ef-, through the. normally closed passage when fective, and absolutely safe. device forthe the hquld is subgected'to sufiicient pressure. and-inst t'use wen required, and so conidentical with-that before described, except structed as to obviate loss throughleakage. thatthe tube 1, is in allyconnected with The invention (in. a preferre form) is a transverse tube 11, a ording-a handle, and illustrated in the drawings; in which the loops of the tube 10, extend to to 8 inclusive, the tube '13, has threaded into the lower end thereofthe-head 14, provided near the opposite ends thereof. One end of said ransversehandle 11, is provided with a screw cap 12, topernnt mg.

In the construction illustrated 111 Figs. 5

5 the tube and extending through the same and through said aperture in the head 14,

- and provided. with a valve closure 18, on the container lower end thereof, is a stem19, provided at its upper end with a'rounded'head 20, wherethe stem may be pressed inwardly. spring 21, is engaged within'the conical nozzle '15, and bears upwardly against the closure 18, to hold the same normally seated. Threaded on the upper end of the pipe, and fitting to the cylindric sterh22, integral'with the spider movable to permit the filling'of the reservoir afforded by said'tube.

The operation is as follows: .The article to be cleaned is spread upon a' suitable surface and the cleaning tool embodying my invention is grasped with the hand and rubbed back and 'forth thereover.- Owing to the small discharge outlet i-nthe form of illustrated in Figs. 4 tot inclusive, none of the fluid will escape from the con-- tainer even though no valve be used until pressure is-generated within the container by the volatiz'ation of the liquid within the to an extent to produce more than atmospheric pressure. After the device has become. slightly warmed, the valve may be opened by pressing upon the thum iece 20, whereupon a few dropsof'the volati e liquid will be deliveredidownwardly through the brush and'fthus spread'over the surface to be cleaned- With the release of such pressure, however, -the flowimmediately stops until further pressure is generated, when the operatio n'continuesfas before.

In the construction illustrated in'Figs. 1

to f inclusive, the operation of the device is wholly automatic when the temperatur'eis raised by the heat of the hand of the'user.

When it is desired to use the device, the article is spread upon a suitable surface for cleaning 'and theioperator grasping the container inlthe hand rubs the brush upon the surfacexgto be: cleaned. Inasmuch as the walls ofthe container are relatively thin and portion hereof the device is constructed of copper or other suitable conducting material, theheat of the hand is almost instantly communicated to the volatile liquid, volatilizing a sufficient contact 17, is a screw cap 23, which is reto create pressure, unseating' the ball 8., and opening the passage into the valve casing 7. The liquid now passes upwardly through the pipe 10, and will be (118- charged drop by drop to the brush, as required.

The diameter or bore of the pipe is sufliciently small as to permit but slow delivery of the liquid, and that approximately to the requirements for satisfactory use of the device. Should the use of the device be discontinued, the moment the hand releases the same, condensation occurs and the flow ceases. Should the device by any possibility be laid down in a position where the liquid might possibly drain therefrom, the small size of the bore of the pipe 10, and the fact that the container is air tight even independently of the seating of the ball 8, in the upper seat of the casing or that controlling the passage leading into the pipe 10, will be sufiicient to prevent loss of the liquid.

In the construction illustrated in Fig. 4, the device is shown with a container suitably formed to afford a large surface area for with the hand and also so formed as to permit the same to be used without danger of tiring the hand, as, for instance, in tailoring establishments and elsewhere Where the device may be used continuously for considerable periods of time.

Of course, it is. pad may be substituted for the brush shown, and that many other details of the construe tion may be varied, without departin from the principles of my invention. have to be understood that a shown but a preferred form of the invenvolatile liquid, a brush secured on the container, a'passage communicating with the container and leading to the brush, a valve normally closin said passage, and means operated by the eat of the hand of the user for delivering the, contents from the conftainer to the brush.

3. A cleaning device for utilizing volatile liquids embracing a thin walled container shaped to fit the hand, a brush secured thereon, an air-tight closure for the container adapted for removal to permit filling, a passage communicating with the container and leading to the brush, and a valve controlling said passage to prevent the escape'of the volatile fluid from the "container, and adapted to be opened'by the v'olatilization the hand, a brush thereon, an air-tight clo sure for the container adapted for removal to permit filling, a pipe opening through the brush back and extending upwardly into and around the container, and a normally closed valve at the inner end of the pipe adapted to be unseated by internal pressure occasioned by the heat of the hand of the operator to permit delivery of the liquid therethrough to the brush.

5. A cleaning device for utilizing volatile liquids embracing a brush, a container, and

means operated by the heat of the hand of.

the user for discharging the contents of the container drop by drop, to the brush.

6. A cleaning device for utilizing volatile liquids embracing a container for the volatile fluid, a brush secured thereto, .a pipe opening through the brush back and extending upwardly into and around the container, and a valve at the inner end of the pipe 0perated by pressure produced by the heat of 'the hand of the user for slowly discharging the contents of the container.

7. A container for a liquid having a cap secured at one end thereof, a couphng engaged on the other end of the container, a cleaning element fitted in said coupling, a valve within, and normally spaced from the bottom of the container to permit the liquid to flow therebeneath and upwardly therethrough, and a tube communicating with the valve and leading to the brush, said valve opened by the increase in pressure within the container caused by the heat of the hand of the user to permit the liquid to flow from the container to the brush through said tube.

8. A cleaning device for utilizing volatile liquids embracing acontainer, a cleaning element secured thereon, a valve casing open at both ends mounted in said container, a gravity acting ball closure therein adapted to close either'end thereof, and a bent tube communicating with the valve casing and extending to near the upper end'of said container and then downwardly with the end of said tube leadin to-thebrush.

9. In a cleamng device utilizing volatile liquids the combination with a rubbing element, of means operating by theheat of the hand of the user to cause discharge of the liquid through said rubbing element.

10. A cleaning brush utilizing volatile liquids operated by the heat of the hand of the user to cause discharge of the liquid to the brush to clean an article. In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two sub scribing witnesses.

, FRANK n. FARNAM. Witnesses LAWRENCE Rnms'rmN, 1 Ln ROY D. KILEY. 

